Critical Week: On the run

It's been the hottest week in Britain for 60 years, and I don't think I've stopped sweating for more than about 30 seconds. Great weather for heading to the cinema, if only there were press screenings! But no, I've watched everything this week in my very warm home office. And it's been another eclectic collection of films. Claes Bang (above) is terrific in The Bay of Silence, a slightly muddled mystery that spins a twisty Hitchcockian plot, costarring Brian Cox and Olga Kurylenko. Waiting for the Barbarians boasts the powerhouse trio of Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson, all excellent in an insightful and challenging exploration of imperialism.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Big Fur • Babyteeth
Waiting for the Barbarians
PERHAPS AVOID:
Endless
FULL REVIEWS >

Ethan Hawke is superb as Tesla in an odd, artful biopic that loosely depicts the genius' life story and celebrates a complex man who is still changing the world. Alexandra Shipp stars in Endless, a relentlessly sappy romantic drama that ultimately lets her down. Roberto Benigni is perfectly cast as Geppetto in an earthy, faithful adaptation of the classic Italian novel Pinocchio. Jay Baruchel writes, directs and costars in the comic book thriller Random Acts of Violence, which starts very well before giving into its own into grisliness. Anthony LaPaglia stars in Pearl as a failed filmmaker who finds meaning through the teen daughter he never knew he had. Yes, it's as sentimental as it sounds, but also surprisingly edgy. And there were two docs: Barbara Kopple's astonishing Desert One offers astonishing firsthand accounts of the failed US rescue mission to free the hostages in 1980 Iran, while the entertaining Big Fur is a cheeky profile of a taxidermist trying to recreate a sasquatch for the world championships.

I'm taking a few days off this next week, but I have some films to watch before and after the break, including Jamie Foxx in Project Power, Janelle Monae in Antebellum, the animated adventure The One and Only Ivan, the British drama S.A.M, the revenge thriller Message Man and the Iranian drama Ava.